The present invention relates to games of chance and choice. More particularly, the present invention relates to such games with award enhancement options.
Lottery games have been in existence for quite a long time. In the past few decades, for example, lottery games have become very popular for governments in raising money and providing interesting and entertaining games of chance or choice for its citizens. Other types games, such as xe2x80x9cscratch offxe2x80x9d ticket games, also have become very popular in commercial establishments in particular in order to provide patrons with the chance to win additional products or services from the establishments or others.
A prominent example of such lottery games is called xe2x80x9clotto.xe2x80x9d Lotto is commonly a jackpot game in which players purchase tickets with gaming indicia, such as number sets, printed on the tickets. Commonly, the player can choose the number sets to be printed on the ticket at the time of purchase by the player, and later, a random drawing occurs during which a winning number is generated and publicized. Often, this drawing event is itself publicized (including by conducting the drawing on television and radio) to increase excitement and awareness of the lottery game. In the event that the winning number matches a number on a player""s lotto ticket, the player wins the jackpot or some portion of it in the event of multiple winners. Each winning player may then claim the appropriate award with the winning ticket in the player""s possession. The game provider retains a portion of the money paid by the game players.
One example of a prior art lotto game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,272, entitled xe2x80x9cConditional Lottery System.xe2x80x9d This prior art system is a conditional ticket system in which the system accepts and validates play entries by game players in procuring their tickets.
Another prominent prior art game of choice is called xe2x80x9cinstant lotto.xe2x80x9d In instant lotto games, each player typically purchases a ticket with a set of numbers generated for the player by, for example, a random number generation system. The player compares the numbers on the ticket with a published winning number or set of winning numbers. In the event the number on the player""s ticket matches a published winning number, the player instantly wins the associated award. The establishment that issued the ticket to the player often provides the award to the player on the spot. The game provider of course retains a portion of the money paid to game players in the form of awards.
One prior art instant lotto or instant award type of game is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,628,684, entitled xe2x80x9cGame System Including an Instant Win Game and a Second Game Initialized by a Winning Instant Win Game Ticket.xe2x80x9d In this game, a player that procures an instant win ticket is also, as a result of the win, offered the opportunity to play in another game such as a video game to procure an additional award from the outcome of the other, second game. The second game may be a stand-alone game or network-operated game.
In another type of prior art instant lotto game each player acquires a type of xe2x80x9cinstantxe2x80x9d award ticket. The providing establishment provides the player with a ticket having game and/or award indicia printed on the ticket but hidden from view by a removable material that may be scratched off by the player. The player then may scratch off the removable material in order to instantly reveal the indicia and determine whether the player has earned an award and if so the nature of the award. This award may be monetary or it may be a product or service. It may also provide the option to participate in yet another game.
Another prior art xe2x80x9cscratch-offxe2x80x9d game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,135, entitled xe2x80x9cTelephonic Interface Lottery System.xe2x80x9d In this game, the player is provided a scratch-off ticket in order to determine if the player is an instant winner, and in addition, the player is given the opportunity to play a succeeding telephonic game.
Yet another prior art xe2x80x9cscratch offxe2x80x9d game is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,293, entitled xe2x80x9cLottery Game and Method of Playing Game.xe2x80x9d This type of game provides an instant lottery scratch-off game and, for winners of the scratch-off instant lottery, the opportunity to play an additional lottery game for an additional prize. See also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,276, entitled xe2x80x9cGame with Multiple Incentives and Multiple Levels of Play and Combined Lottery Game with Time of Purchase Win Progressive Jackpot.xe2x80x9d
While these prior art games have offered multiple games and increased incentives and awards for lottery game players, including scratch-off lottery game players, the applicants believe that significantly more can be done to increase the number of participants and potential revenue for these types of games. The multiple gaming opportunities such as noted above tend to be time consuming and complicated, often requiring gaming skill by the participants. They also typically have not provided a sufficiently direct means of procuring increased awards, thereby providing increased incentives to participation, particularly in the context of an instant lotto or instant award type of game.
The applicant therefore has discovered that more can be done to provide scratch-off and instant award types of lottery games with more direct mechanisms of providing increased awards and incentives to play. The applicant has also discovered that, in particular, certain embodiments of scratch-off or instant award games can do so while also being less time consuming and/or without requiring the types of gaming skills often required to play prior art games.
The applicant has therefore provided a lottery or instant award game, and associated game ticket or piece, that provides a lottery or instant award game to procure a base prize amount and the opportunity to procure a multiplied award of the base prize amount.
In one embodiment, the lottery game provides at least one game player with a game ticket having hidden indicia on the ticket, so that the indicia may then be revealed to the player. In this fashion, the player may determine if the player has won a base award.
In the preferred embodiment, the hidden indicia is covered by a removable material when provided to the game player. In the most preferred embodiment, this removable material can be scratched off of the ticket by the player.
The ticket or piece may provide additional indicia that may provide the player the opportunity to procure a multiplied award. Most preferably, the additional indicia additionally or alternatively is hidden and may include a plurality of such indicia from which the player may choose to possibly procure a multiplied valuable award. The multiplied award may be more valuable, but it optionally may be less valuable than the original or base award in a prior game.
The game may alternatively or in addition provide the game player with the opportunity to procure later-determined multiplied awards.
Later-determined multiplied awards may be provided by publicized gaming events. One type of a publicized gaming event can optionally provide a multiplied award to the game player in the event that an outcome in the publicized game matches an award or award multiplier previously determined in the game.
Most preferably, the game provides a plurality of tickets or game pieces to a plurality of game players, and the multiplier determination in the second or latter game may be pursuant to a progressive or other lottery game that allows for increasing award sizes with increased player participation in the first or other base game prior to the second or latter game or multiplier determination.
Optionally, the award determination in association with the ticket may, in certain instances, constitute the awarding of products or services rather than cash or credit.
The present invention thus can provide novel methods of doing business by providing the present lottery or instant award games. The methods may optionally provide revenue for the opportunity to play the present games, increased revenue from increased player participation in the games provided by the present invention, advertising revenue in association with the gaming activities including publicizing of the gaming activities or award determinations, and the ability to enhance a retail or other business by providing stimulating or loyalty-enhancing games for procuring awards from the business.
There are other aspects of the present invention and its various embodiments. They will become apparent as the specification proceeds. In this regard, it is to be understood that the scope of the present invention is to be determined by reference to the issued claims and not by whether a given embodiment meets every aspect of this brief summary or satisfies every deficiency or problem with the prior art as noted above.